Evaluation of hydrological models in SWAT and HEC-HMS with potential application to the particular characteristics of the sub-basin of the Quillcay River-Peru

Abstract

Geospatial geographic information technologies, together with hydrometeorological information, have made it possible to make increasingly accurate and detailed studies of the behavior of the hydrological cycle worldwide, especially with the use of models such as SWAT (Soil & Water Assessment Tool) or HEC-HMS (Hydrologic Modeling System). In this paper, SWAT model is used in the Quillcay sub-basin in Ancash (Peru), which has 247.38 km2, from geographic information such as the Digital Elevation Model (DEM), vegetation cover, soil type and curve number, in addition to climatic information, to perform an analysis of the SWAT model performance for a period of 34 years (1983-2016), with an emphasis on the estimation of the monthly flow rate, with HEC-HMS for 30 years (1986-2016), daily precipitation data and monthly average evapotranspiration data. Detailed tables with daily flows, peaks, and date of record are obtained, the maximum obtained was 40.60 m3/s using the Green and Ampt method, and with SWAT it was 31.48 m3/s using Curve Number.